Sean Dyche was delighted with the mentality on display from his Everton side after they twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday afternoon.
Former Blue Richarlison hit a double for the visitors during the encounter at Goodison, and the first was cancelled out by Jack Harrison’s leveller on the half-hour mark when the winger got a touch on Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s headed effort.
A goal down heading into the final moments of the game, Jarrad Branthwaite netted a crucial stoppage-time goal to equalise.
Reacting to the winning goal and describing his team’s performance, Dyche said: ”It’s a great header. I think their lad touches it on, and it’s a great header. It’s a brave header and a good finish.
“There’s a lot of good to come out of that performance, and we’re stretched to the limit. Everyone played their part. The subs came on and made a difference, and the mentality was fantastic from the crowd as well. When it’s connected like that, I always say we can be very competitive.
“I thought there were so many good things and so much character in the team. That’s an important factor over a season’s work. It shows even when we’re stretched, the belief we have in each other. There were a couple of young lads coming off the bench - Dobbo [Lewis Dobbin] coming on and affecting it. He put a great ball in for a chance for (Youssef) Chermiti.
“There are good signs about what we’re trying to achieve here, in amongst the adversity and all the noise.”
The late leveller means Everton are now undefeated in their past three Premier League games, with their previous longer unbeaten streak coming from a run of four matches in early December.
The Blues were good value for the result, says Dyche, who was keen to praise his side for their positive showing, especially given the injuries to key players within the squad.
“We worked to cause them trouble in many different ways and created chances - certainly enough to get something from the game,” said Dyche. “You could argue [we had enough] to win it, but they’re a good side and they found clinical moments.
“We are stretched at the minute - that’s obvious. We’ve got some very good players who are missing. Gana’s done brilliantly today. He’s travelled back and he hasn’t played much football. He’s come in and given a very good performance. Youngy, we’re nursing back to full fitness. Seamus (Coleman) is only just back. We’re still missing (Abdoulaye) Doucoure and (Amadou) Onana.
“If you get the odd injury, you can carry it, but if you get four or five at a time, it really asks questions of the squad, so I’ve been really pleased by the mentality to perform against a really good outfit in Tottenham.”
